What is your New Years resolution? I always seem to carry-over the same ones from the previous year… I’ve decided that 2015 is the year that I’m gonna make the magic happen! You’ll see! Wahoooweeee!

Here are a few resolutions for your walkathon that may help contribute to your success in 2015!

1. Lose weight

Cut the fat from your staff. Let go of the underperformers. Run some reports indicating their goal and if they achieved it compared to other staff. Let the numbers do the talking. Harsh, yes – but sadly necessary.

3. Get more sleep

If your site allows it, do most of the setup the day and night before so you can arrive fresh at the site the next morning. Your body will appreciate it!

4. Save money

I recently createda post that describes the three biggest budget busters. They all begin with the letter P!

5. Be Happy

When walkers arrive at your event, make sure they are greeted by a smiling volunteer. This first impression will work wonders on a cold, rainy morning! Plus, who really wants to hand-over their hard-earned donations to a crab? Smile!

That’s it! I hope you find these resolutions helpful and that your family has a Happy and Healthy 2015!

Event expenses can sometimes ruin all the good things you want to accomplish at your walkathon.

Since the holiday season is upon us, and we (me) are overspending on gifts, I thought I would post on budget busting.

The three primary budget busters for walkathons all happen to begin with the same letter. P!

1. Printing

It’s the little things that get ya. Walk papers, buttons, posters, apparel, tchotchkes and all the other event collateral adds up. Be mindful of what you really need and make sure you include a phrase on the paper products that read: “This (item) was paid for by the funds raised at the (your event here) walk”.

2. Postage

Donors are getting wise to the real stamps that are actually bulk mail stamps. Historically, you could look at the bulk mail markings and know that it was probably junk mail. Whether it is a first class 49- cent stamp or a bulk mail stamp, postage really adds up. Think about the stuff you mail out and how much of it you can place online to be downloaded.

3. Police

If you read my previous post about planning your route, then you saw that having mostly right turns will hopefully allow you to reduce your police detail since less streets will need to be closed. Some police have 4 hour minimums and you pay for 8 hours one minute over the four hour minimum. One of my clients had the police department tell them they needed $93K for police detail on their route! That was a budget buster!

Sure, there are plenty of other things that can get expensive for your event, but I have found that the 3 P’s above are the expenses that are usually not on the budget radar.

Holiday Traditions. Some are are a time suck, like Black Friday, when my daughter wakes me up at 2:30am so we can go be part of the mayhem looking for good deals (read: clothes for her and only her). We get back home around 8am and I’m a body-clock-wreck for the next day.

Some traditions are practical, like Cyber Monday, when you can bang-out most of your holiday shopping list and have things delivered for free. I love the deals and free shipping to my home makes me love it even more. The anti-time-suck.

A new tradition, Giving Tuesday, is today. Time to think about others who need our help. Give your time and talent to others in your community. Give a donation to an organization that is meaningful to you or your family.

We celebrated having full tummies and full hearts for a long weekend. Time to share the wealth.